Typing Without Thinking

Summary

The article "Typing Without Thinking" offers practical strategies for overcoming writer's block by forcing oneself to write, choosing a conducive environment, and recording one's thoughts verbally.

Abstract

The post "Typing Without Thinking" addresses the common issue of writer's block, suggesting that the act of writing itself can be a cure. The author, who admits to lacking ideas while writing the post, emphasizes the importance of setting aside a time and place to write, even if the initial ideas seem lackluster. The article encourages writers to simply start writing without overthinking the structure or development of their ideas, as the act of writing can spark further creativity. Additionally, the author recommends recording oneself speaking about the topic as a method to generate ideas freely, capitalizing on the natural flow of conversation to overcome the intimidating blank page.

Opinions

The author believes that writer's block is often a result of overthinking and that the best approach is to begin writing without judging the initial ideas.
It is suggested that a change of environment can positively influence the writing process and help in generating ideas.
The article posits that one should not be deterred by the perceived lameness of ideas; the key is to start writing and refine later.
The author advises against excessive preoccupation with the structure or development of an idea before writing, advocating for a more organic approach to writing.
Recording oneself talking about the topic is presented as an effective technique to overcome writer's block, as it mimics the natural flow of speech and can lead to unexpected insights.

Typing Without Thinking

Writer’s block? Never again.

If you are reading this post right now, chances are you find it hard to write. Having no ideas is very common, sometimes you spend the entire day reading someone else’s story in the hope of finding inspiration. The more you read, the less the ideas emerge.

When writing this post, I also do not have any ideas on what to write. The funny thing is I just force myself to write, so here comes the title “Typing Without Thinking” because really, I am not thinking as I write this.

So, let’s go to the main topic. If you are having a writer’s block, do this.

Find a nice place, sit down, open your laptop, and start writing.

Honestly speaking, you just need to force yourself to come up with ideas. Trust me, this is very simple but effective. When you open your writing tab, you set yourself in a writer mode, a lot of ideas will come, you just need to pick the least lame one. I think we all can agree that in a lot of cases, it is not about not-having-any-ideas, but it is more like you have lots of ideas, but they all feel very lame. For me, if I have set the time to write, I will write no matter how lame the idea is.

Do not worry about developing your idea

Some people tend to think a lot about how to develop the idea before even starting. Some have a very great topic, but then when they think about what they will write, they stop because it seems like there is nothing to write about. Do not do that. When you have a good topic that you want to talk about, just start writing. You do not really have to think about the structure first, just write whatever you are thinking about. You can worry about the structure later when you are done with pouring the words you wanna say.

Record your voice

You know when you are talking to someone, you don’t really think about the content of your conversation, it just flows. This can be used to help with writing. When you have an idea but don’t know what to write, try talking to yourself about the topic, just talk casually about everything on your minds about that topic. I know for those of you who are not used to talking to yourself, this sounds creepy but really it’s pretty normal if you are used to it. While you are talking, don’t forget to record yourself. I did it several times and I’m pretty sure you will be surprised at how many new ideas you blurt out unconsciously.